The Supreme Court on Thursday made a decision to block the Trump administration’s attempt to end DACA, the program that protects undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children.
We had the chance to speak with a Grand Island teacher and UNK graduate who said she benefited from DACA and now she’s accomplishing what she’s always wanted to do.
“I think I was a sophomore in High School, so I think that was the first time ever I was able to get a job because of this. I was able to apply for a bunch of scholarships and that opened a whole different door to my future,” Jimena Taylor said.
Taylor said those opportunities led her to go to college. Something she said she wasn’t able to do before DACA.
“After college, I got a job as a teacher, something I’ve always wanted to do. So now that DACA is here to stay, I don’t have the fear of losing my job and not being able to be there for my students and now I have a two-year old son,” said Taylor.
Activist and former teacher of Taylor, Yolanda Nuncio said it was important then in 2012 when DACA was approved and even now because many people live in fear of being deported but also being denied of doing everyday things.
“There are many times in which kids that are 14 or 15 years-old that didn’t realize that they were undocumented and didn’t realize that until they went to get a job or get their driver’s license that they were not eligible to receive those because they were undocumented,” Yolanda Nuncio said.
Taylor said Grand Island is diverse and she meets many students who have undocumented family members. She said she knows what they’re going through and she knows how they feel.
“Being able to relate to their stories is really what hits home and why I wanted to be a teacher, essentially to be there for those students,” said Taylor.